wanako
I haven't worked with a Hybrid Cooler before so the hardware is new to me and EVGA did not label any of the screws and indicate what they were for. From what I've found, the 4mm nut/screw is used to secure the PCB to the Hybrid Midplate and also act as kind of standoffs for securing the Backplate with the ridiculously tiny screws that were included. Unfortunately this is where I've come up to another roadblock where the little screws are too small for the Black Edition Backplate. They're not long enough. From what I can see, this kit is only fully compatible with the Founder's Edition and partly compatible with the SC Black.

timmyboy04
At least the PCBs aren't green anymore 

EVGATech_LeeM

skyda_Killer
So is that EVGA's response? basically to not install the backplate lmao... surely there's something else that can be done 

I do realize that the instructions could be better in a variety of ways, but the instructions are clear with regards to pictures and text to finish the installation, and nowhere is it mentioned to reinstall the backplate.  Graphics card compatibility is based on the instructions given with this HYBRID Kit.
 
Keep in mind that this HYBRID kit is based on the reference PCB of the GTX Titan X(P), which also works on the reference PCBs for GTX 1080 Ti cards.  As Jacob has mentioned elsewhere, we will be releasing a different HYBRID Kit for the GTX 1080 Ti cards, which you can currently see the design on the GTX 1080 Ti SC2 HYBRID card.  Those Kits are different in a number of ways and will allow the backplate to be used.  For what its worth in testing a number of cards here, backplates make little difference to the overall cooling with a HYBRID card/kit due to how efficiently the GPU and other areas are cooled.

Bkral93
 
You went out of your way to include Founder's Edition backplate bolts!!! It's not so much about thermals, it's about covering the plethora of possibilities of a short. I just installed my hybrid kit today on my SC Black and it's in an mITX case. I'm half tempted to cover the entire back with electrical tape just to prevent the chance of my GPU shorting.

The info-graphic on the current Titan XP hybrid shows the 1080ti SC Black as compatible, nowhere does it say that we shouldn't use it and that there is an actual SC2 hybrid kit coming out.

talkischeap

wanako
I haven't worked with a Hybrid Cooler before so the hardware is new to me and EVGA did not label any of the screws and indicate what they were for. From what I've found, the 4mm nut/screw is used to secure the PCB to the Hybrid Midplate and also act as kind of standoffs for securing the Backplate with the ridiculously tiny screws that were included. Unfortunately this is where I've come up to another roadblock where the little screws are too small for the Black Edition Backplate. They're not long enough. From what I can see, this kit is only fully compatible with the Founder's Edition and partly compatible with the SC Black.

Good luck.  I just finished installing the Hybrid kit onto my FE 1080 ti tonight and the instructions are a complete joke.  It skips steps and doesn't mention at all what screws to use or even tell you when screw things back together.  Luckily i could manage without any instructions at all as I troubleshoot electronics for a living and mod for fun.  But I feel bad for someone who doesn't work on this stuff at all just going in blind because EVGA isn't going to help you much at all with the shotty 1 size fits all generic instruction manual with pictures of a card you probably don't even own.  Beyond that I'm really happy with the finished product.

suby4me
I watched a couple of youtube videos of the hybrid installation kits to make sure I knew what I was doing. The instructions did miss some parts but with the videos I knew what to do without referring the manual. I used most of the new screws, but I have one screw left over. It's a long one that is used to hold the back plate. Only one of the screws went in while the other just hovered in the hole. 

bswope35
Were you able to get the SC Black backplate working with the hybrid kit? If not, others seem to confirm that the backplate for the FE can be used after installing the hybrid kit. Are there any downsides to going that route? I've been holding off on a step-up to see if the SC Black shows up on the list, but I've also been eyeing the hybrid kit as well.
 
If the FE works better with the hybrid kit I'll probably just step-up to that and pick up a kit. It may be vain, but I have a windowed case and I can't bring myself to run such a high-end GPU without a backplate. I'm honestly surprised to hear that the intention was to leave it off.